Stuffed Jalapeno's

Everyone has one, and this is mine.   A dish that can go to any potluck or covered dish affair and hold its head up.
Stuffed Jalapeno's are easy to prepare, pretty to look at, and yummy to eat.    Here goes;

Cook up about a pound of sausage, whatever kind you like.   We like it a little spicy so that's the kind I use.  Set it aside to cool.  

Start with some nice fresh jalapeno's, give them a bath.  I love it when I can find red ones along with the bright green jalapeno's.  (or just pick them out of your garden, if you grew some).

You then need to cut them in two, remove the seeds and membranes. Don't forget the gloves.

 Then pile them up in a pan and take a picture of them.

Next up, make the filling.   Here's where your lovely blue gloves come in handy again. 

You want to smoosh up the cream cheese and cooked sausage using your gloved hands.  Trust me on this, cleanup is so much easier.

Next up, stuff those little Jalapeno's and add a slice of cheese on top.  Go ahead and use your gloved hand, you can really pack in the filling that way.

I like my Colby-Jack cheese, so that is what I usually use.

Bake them for about a half hour at 350 degrees, pull them out and eat.

Here's the full recipe, such as it is. 

Stuffed Jalapeno's

1-2 8 oz. Cream Cheese

1 to 1.5 lb. Sausage, fried 

Jalapeno's (15 - 20 or ...)

Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese  use whatever kind you like.

1 pair disposable gloves.

Start by putting on a pair of disposable gloves, or at least one glove, the one you will be handling the jalapeno's with. I usually just glove my left hand because I'm right handed. Trust me on this, you won't be sorry. Jalapeno's can be downright spiteful and nasty if you happen to rub a sensitive part of yourself if you haven't protected your hand from the jalapeno juice.

Cut Jalapeno's in half and remove seeds and the membrane inside. Set aside.

Fry the sausage up, breaking it up a little, drain and set aside to cool.

Dump the cream cheese into a bowl and then put the cooled sausage on top and smoosh it all together. (I've found that if I use the other glove for this, it makes for a quicker cleanup. And no messy fingers. )

Fill the jalapeno's with about a teaspoon or so of the cream cheese/sausage mixture and place in a baking pan. When they are all filled, add a piece of cheese on top and put it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at about 325 deg. Take them out of the oven, put on a serving dish and put them on the table. I would advise standing back at this point, as they tend to disappear.

Best part of this, if you end up with more filling than jalapeno's (it has been known to happen), just stick it in the freezer and use up the next time. Same goes with jalapeno's, you can stick them in the freezer after prep and use them up later on. Or just throw the leftover jalapeno's into some other dish you need some heat in.

There are no exact measurements, roughly one pound sausage to 2 packages cream cheese to about 15 or 20 jalapeno's, I think. I usually figure on about 2-3 per person, but that can vary as well.

Most important of all, enjoy.